Headlines

Seasonal greetings and a Happy New Year

by Swisster staff

December 23, 2009 | 10:09

The whole team at Swisster would like to take this opportunity to wish our readers a wonderful holiday and a happy and successful new year. Swisster will recommence publishing content on Monday, January 4, 2010.

Full story

Society
	Animals which hit Swisster headlines in 2009
	December 23, 2009 \| 10:46	by Marcus Berry and Swisster staff

A wide variety of animals occupied Swisster journalists over the past 12 months including a Steve McQueen wannabe lynx, which made a daring escape in broad daylight from its newly improved pen in canton...Full story

Sports
	Swiss ski teams in good shape for 2010 events
	December 23, 2009 \| 08:47	by Giles Broom

Representatives of Swiss ski groups are optimistic for events in 2010, beginning with major world cup races in Wengen and Adelboden before the winter Olympics starts on 12 February in Vancouver, Canada....Full story

Culture
	What’s on: Pucks and monks, circuses and crèches
	December 22, 2009 \| 11:38	by Susan Vogel-Misicka

A look at what’s going on over the holidays, including Christmas and New Year’s events around the nation. In the cities of Zurich and Geneva, it’s circus season. Meanwhile, Davos hosts the Spengler...Full story

Society
	Avoid Internet puppy sales, says protection group
	December 22, 2009 \| 11:28	by Marcus Berry

As Christmas approaches, the Swiss Animal Protection group (SPA) is warning the public to refrain from buying animals for their kids and especially over the Internet. The group says that while large “breeding...Full story

Education & Health
	Lead by example with alcohol, expert warns parents
	December 22, 2009 \| 11:24	by Jeremy Allen

Parents can be tempted to succumb to a 12-year-old’s request to give them a glass of champagne over the Christmas holiday. However an American addiction specialist living in Western Switzerland says...Full story

Society
	Historic agreement aims to ease train congestion
	December 22, 2009 \| 08:41	by Michèle Laird

An official agreement launches a complete overhaul of the train connections between Lausanne and Geneva Airport. The signed protocol, a first of its kind, will allow the cantons of Vaud and Geneva to advance...Full story

Swiss oil traders prosper from 2009 volatility
Traders say the 2009 oil market has been profitable, helped by market volatility and beneficial price differentials between spot and futures markets. Top executives tell their success stories to the media...

Full storyDecember 21, 2009 | 12:00by Giles Broom

Ice and snow causes chaos at Geneva airport
Passengers hoping to leave Geneva to join friends and family for the Christmas holidays experience a travel nightmare yesterday as dozens of flights are cancelled due to treacherous weather conditions...

Full storyDecember 21, 2009 | 11:22by Jeremy Allen

Climate change conference deal fails to convince Swiss
The deal which emerges from United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is greeted with alarm from political parties and NGOs in Switzerland. A Swiss delegation calls the deal “a small step...

Full storyDecember 21, 2009 | 11:11by Marcus Berry

EPFL expert unlocks secrets of Dreamliner
Boeing’s lightweight Dreamliner will pave the way for future fuel-efficient planes, an expert in composite materials based at Lausanne’s federal institute of technology (EPFL) tells Swisster. Jan-Anders...

Full storyDecember 18, 2009 | 11:49by Jeremy Allen

Béjart Ballet courts innovation and sponsors
Considered one of the top dance companies in the world, Béjart Ballet Lausanne gives its end-of-year spectacular at the Théâtre de Beaulieu from 19 to 23 December. Director Gil Roman introduces innovation...

Full storyDecember 18, 2009 | 01:27by Michèle Laird

Swiss tourism sector sees no upturn until 2011
With the Swiss hotel industry set to suffer its worst year since the Second World War, there are few signs of recovery ahead in the New Year. Switzerland Tourism is concerned about business prospects for...

Full storyDecember 17, 2009 | 14:04by Jeremy Allen

US authorities outline scope of Credit Suisse wrongdoing
More details emerge about Credit Suisse’s activities to skirt US sanctions, including the falsifying of documents by employees to process hundreds of millions of dollars in America for clients from Iran...

Full storyDecember 17, 2009 | 11:33by Malcolm Curtis

Expat ski entrepreneur plans Swiss expansion
Entrepreneur Sam Bartholomew sets up a new branch of his ski hire business in Champéry and plans to expand from his Verbier base into other Swiss valleys. The Christmas period is crucial for his delivery...

Full storyDecember 17, 2009 | 10:35by Giles Broom

Swiss government accepts Guantánamo victim
A Guantánamo Bay prisoner will make his new home in canton Geneva after the Swiss government announces his acceptance following a lengthy vetting system. While Amnesty International sees the decision...

Full storyDecember 17, 2009 | 10:06by Marcus Berry

Mock Swiss minaret attracts worldwide attention
In protest of the ban on minarets voted by his fellow countrymen, a Swiss businessman builds a mock minaret on the roof of his premises in Bussigny, a suburb of Lausanne. Visible from afar, the minaret...

Full storyDecember 17, 2009 | 09:08by Michèle Laird

Plan aims to repair damaged Swiss banking sector
With a banking industry still smarting from the financial crisis and scandals over tax evasion and major losses, the Swiss government announces a strategy aimed at rejuvenating the troubled sector. The...

Full storyDecember 16, 2009 | 17:38by Malcolm Curtis

Credit Suisse ready to pay US millions over sanctions
Switzerland’s second largest bank is prepared to pay more than half a billion dollars in penalties to the US government over deals with countries, such as Iran, subject to American economic sanctions....

Full storyDecember 16, 2009 | 11:26by Malcolm Curtis

Boss on trial for 'causing earthquakes' in Basel
An extraordinary trial gets underway in Basel, where the head of a geothermal company stands accused of causing earthquakes and damaging property during a project to extract clean energy from underground....

Full storyDecember 16, 2009 | 11:15by Marcus Berry

Group warns of gambling addiction in Switzerland
Depression, inability to concentrate, heavy smoking and drinking are just some of the symptoms of addiction to gambling, which affects up to 120,000 individuals in Switzerland. Less than half of Swiss...

Full storyDecember 16, 2009 | 10:05by Jeremy Allen

What’s on: Midnight madness and a singing Christmas tree
A look at what’s going on over the next few days, including extreme sports in the form of “snow soccer” in St. Gallen, a midnight run in Lausanne and a six-day bike race in Zurich. Meanwhile, some...

Full storyDecember 16, 2009 | 09:56by Susan Vogel-Misicka

‘Magic formula’ changed Swiss politics 50 years ago
An informal system of diversifying representation in Switzerland’s executive branch of government has roots in a “magic formula” that began half a century ago this week. The arrangement is no longer...

Full storyDecember 16, 2009 | 08:00by Malcolm Curtis

Interview: Expat property outlook for 2010
As the end of the year approaches, Switzerland has avoided the worst of the global property slump and those in the industry predict the national market will continue to pick up gently in 2010. Lorenzo...

Full storyDecember 15, 2009 | 11:30by Michèle Decorges

Switzerland 'likely to fulfil emissions targets', says Bern
Bern’s report at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen says Switzerland is “likely to fulfil its emissions targets” under the directives of the Kyoto Protocol. However, to achieve this, it...

Full storyDecember 15, 2009 | 11:01by Marcus Berry